The present invention relates to a system and method for providing receipts bearing financial/transactional information to users of self-service or point of sale terminals, and in particular automatic teller machines.
Self-service terminals such as automatic teller machines (ATMs) currently allow users to carry out financial transactions and optionally receive a receipt confirming details of the transaction. FIG. 1 shows the steps that are typically taken when a transaction occurs in a financial network. Firstly, the consumer enters into the ATM transaction data, such as the amount of money he wants to withdraw. This is then processed, typically with reference to a host terminal. If the transaction is a point of sale transaction, an electronic signature may be captured.
Once the transaction is authorized by the host and completed, a transactional receipt is printed by the ATM or POS terminal and issued to the consumer. This receipt typically includes a detailed breakdown of the transaction. For example, for an ATM, the receipt usually includes details of the amount withdrawn, the date, the time, the location of the ATM, the account number, etc. For a point of sales transaction, the receipt typically includes an identifier for identifying each of the goods purchased as well as the price. Some high level details of the transaction, such as the total amount spent/withdrawn, the date and the location of the ATM or POS, are then transmitted to the host terminal, where they are stored. This stored information is then used by the bank and printed in a listing that constitutes the customer's monthly statement.
Whilst printing and issuing receipts at a self service terminal gives a useful record of any transactions carried out at that terminal, it can be inconvenient, because it means that customers have to retain relatively small bits of paper for later use. When the customer has to collect many of these receipts, keeping track of them can become troublesome. Another problem with issuing receipts at ATMs is the need to provide printers and paper in the ATM itself. This increases the overall cost and technical complexity of these machines. A yet further difficulty is that printing out receipts can cause litter problems in the vicinity of ATMs, because customers often forget to take their receipt or they check it and then discard it. Even though bins are usually provided for unwanted receipts, these can overflow. Emptying the bins can add a maintenance burden.